Roger Federer: 'Showed me how important positive mindset was'

Despite being away from the circuit for almost a year now, Roger Federer has nevertheless kept busy with interviews and commercials. The last official tournament played by the Swiss phenomenon dates back to the Australian Open 2020, where he surrendered in the semifinals to the future winner Novak Djokovic. The former world number 1 then went to South Africa for a charity exhibition with his eternal rival Rafael Nadal, thereby establishing a new attendance record for a tennis match and raising 3.5 million dollars for charity. Many - both fans and insiders - are wondering if the Basel veteran will actually be able to get back competitive at almost 40 years old and after two knee operations. The 20-time Grand Slam champion will aim to make it 100% to the summer events, with Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics being the latest efforts in his incredible career. In a video posted by one of his main sponsors, Credit Suisse, the 39-year-old Swiss confided that he had been receiving questions about his retirement for more than a decade.

Federer on his first Grand Slam title

For Roger Federer, this was a failure and he needed to ‘learn from it.’ He revealed that the loss in 2001 made him question himself but at the same time gave him belief - which eventually helped him lift the trophy in 2003. “You need to have the ability to be comfortable with failure and to learn from it," said Federer. "2001 was that for me and it did make me question whether I had missed my chance. Coming back two years later and win my first Grand Slam at Wimbledon really showed me how important positive mindset was.” Roger Federer is withdrawing from the Australian Open while he continues preparing to return to action after two operations on his right knee and a tour absence that will have lasted longer than a year, his agent told The Associated Press.Tony Godsick — Federer’s long-time representative and CEO of their management company, TEAM8 — said Sunday he is working on putting together a 2021 tennis calendar for the 20-time Grand Slam champion, who plans to get back on tour soon after the year’s first major tennis tournament. “Roger has decided not to play the 2021 Australian Open. He has made strong progress in the last couple of months with his knee and his fitness. However, after consultation with his team, he decided that the best decision for him in the long run is to return to competitive tennis after the Australian Open,” Godsick said in a statement sent to the AP.“

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3oeajzP